Sex offender arrested at North Idaho State Fair

COEUR d'ALENE — A registered sex offender was arrested while working at a carnival during the North Idaho State Fair.

Authorities received a tip Aug. 25 that Richard J. Landreth, 75, Coeur d’Alene, was employed at the carnival at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. Idaho Department of Correction probation officers and detectives found Landreth selling tickets inside a booth to fairgoers of all ages.

Landreth’s failure to inform his probation officer of his carnival employment "was a clear violation of his probation" and he was arrested, a press release said.

Kootenai County Sheriff's Office detectives continued an investigation. On Aug. 31, detectives responded to the Kootenai County Public Safety Building and arrested Landreth for one count of sex offender registration violation and failure to update registered sex offender information, the release said.

A judge set his bond at $250,000.

The KCSO said that "neither Kootenai County, the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, the Kootenai County Fair Committee, and/or the North Idaho State Fair & Rodeo has anything to do with the hiring of temporary employees in either the carnival area, or the many food vendors working at our Fair, as they are each independent businesses."

Alexcia Jordan, general manager of the North Idaho State Fair, said they acted quickly after being notified of the situation and carnival management helped authorities locate Landreth.

She said that according to their agreement, the carnival does background checks on all their employees, including local temporary hires.

"Moving forward to avoid this situation we will require a list of all carnival staff and provide it to the Sheriff's Department for cross reference," Jordan wrote in an email to The Press. "Keeping our patrons safe is the highest priority."